I am hoping to complete next month on a garden flat in Great Shelford. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Great Shelford.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Great Shelford. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Great Shelford who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Great Shelford conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 350000 flat in Great Shelford in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Great Shelford?

Great Shelford conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Are there common problems that you encounter in leases for Great Shelford properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Great Shelford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

Does the lease have in excess of 90 years left? What restrictions are there in the Great Shelford Lease?